Students prepared to pay higher tuition fees for better IT services

One in four students are dissatisfied with the technology provided by their university.

An increasing number of students are willing to pay higher tuition fees for better IT services at their university, according to research.

They want personal devices, remote access to lectures with mobiles and better tools to collaborate with other students and lecturers, the survey by cloud computing specialist VMware found.

Of the 1,000 undergraduate students polled, nearly 83% think the IT skills they learn at university will prepare them well for the workplace, 84% believe improved IT services would improve academic results, while 92% believe that flexible studying practices would enhance their university experience.

And over a quarter believe the technology provided by their university isn’t good enough.

As a result, one in three students said they would pay higher tuition fees for improved IT services.

Cliff Keast, head of UK Public Services at VMware, said: "As this research shows, many universities still have a long way to go before they meet students’ expectations.

"It’s not just about equipping them with the latest tablets, it’s about providing the infrastructure and services which offer the best possible environment for learning, enabling students to study and collaborate in a way that empowers them to achieve the results they need to stand out in today’s competitive job market."

He added: "Today’s teenagers and young adults have grown up with technology engrained in their everyday lives, and see no reason why their experiences at a university shouldn’t be the same.

"They want to use personal devices to access course information from anywhere, anytime and have an expectation that the university’s IT will work well."